Crossing the Acheron
by Goldberry
Summary: Some rivers are just too wide to cross. Or are they? [NejiTen][Part 1 of 'The River Trilogy']
1. The Judgement

Author's Notes: Well, here I am again. First, I must give thanks to Farli from Livejournal for supporting me and generally being very appreciative of this little idea of mine. You have no idea how much you helped me.

Next, the setting of this story is in the future. Neji, Tenten, and Lee are around twenty. The age really isn't that important, just the fact that they are adults is. Also, this fic was heavily influenced by the song "Fields of Hope" by Tanaka Rie, which you should all go out and listen to if you can. It's just beautiful. I'll probably be putting it up on my journal when I get a chance so stop by if you want it.

Other than that, sit back, relax and please enjoy.

Crossing the Acheron

She woke aching, her body pulsing with every slow heartbeat against that tightness in her chest that always threatened to send her into tears. She moved slightly under the covers, dropping a palm against her collarbone, trying to swallow past the stone of grief lodged in her throat. Her skin felt cold and she trembled, smiling painfully in the darkness. She must have been dreaming about him.

The moon had risen outside, sending its silver white rays into her bedroom and slipping over her rumpled sheets and one slender leg that had somehow come uncovered. The household was quiet with the heavy stillness of a place that knows little joy and less laughter, the air somber and thick and without noise or interruption. Even the chirping of the crickets outside could barely be heard, the night wind bringing her only the scent of dying summer through the open window.

She lay there for a few minutes, head tilted to one side as she watched the stars move through the glass. She woke like this sometimes and in the last year she had come to understand that those dreams would never leave her. She had thought so at first, everyone telling her that she would move on, that the void in her heart would lessen. Time, they said, you just need time. She had listened to them to them only vaguely, knowing in her soul she didn't deserve those words of pity. She had no real right to her sorrow, no real claim to the scarred and scratched forehead protector that sat on her nightstand. Still, she had wanted to have it, begged to actually. If that was all she could get of him, then she would take it.

She imagined sometimes that it watched over her.

Not at night though. The evening was the time her memories were the strongest and she found herself dreading them as much as wishing for them. Days passed when she was sure she would one day die from the never healing wound she carried, and then the twilight would bring her his face and the feel of his hand against her cheek and she would lock those sensations in the cage behind her eyes, waiting until the moment when she could pull them out again and examine them in the starlight like pearls.

Shaking her head slightly, she sat up, moving her legs over the edge of the bed to stand and cross the room to the sliding door, catching her reflection in the mirror as she did so. She halted, struck suddenly by the face that stared back at her, dark eyes too big in a face that looked… weary. Her long hair was disheveled, falling around her shoulders in untamed waves and tangles. She frowned suddenly as she realized how prominent the bones of her shoulders and face were. She had certainly been losing weight lately, but it was only natural after everything she had been through. Still, her image was disconcerting. When had she begun to disappear?

But the answer to that was too simple and so she put it out of her mind.

Careful not to touch the rice paper, she opened the door and padded down the hallway, bare feet silent against the cool wooden floors. She had only to go a few feet to the room next door where she leaned forward to peek inside, a tender smile curving her lips as she stepped inside.

"I didn't think you would come tonight," she said softly, her voice pitched low so as not to disturb the other sleeping members of the house. Lee looked up at her from where he sat, an answering smile flashing at her from his expressive face.

"I just got back and I didn't want to go home just yet," he replied as she came to his side, that hole inside of her losing some of it's ache at the way Lee's bandaged arms so carefully held her son, Keiki's small fingers wrapped around one of Lee's. He was sleeping soundly, something he thankfully did on a regular basis, and the soft baby sounds he made were instantly endearing. Not that Lee needed to be charmed. He had been enchanted with Keiki the moment he had been born, probably because he had been the one beside her as she delivered him. She smiled inwardly remembering the way her friend's eyes had streamed tears when she had first allowed him to hold Keiki. His words then were still branded into her mind. _I want to be there for him, like Gai-sensei was there for me. I want him to know there's nothing he can't do. Besides, I made a promise, and if I can't keep it then I lose one hundred fights to Neji. _An awkward smile. _I won't lose this time._

"He missed his uncle," she whispered, touching her teammate's shoulder. Lee grinned. "How did the mission go?"

"Good. But that's to be expected since Sakura was with us." She didn't miss the note of pride in his voice when he spoke. Even after all this time, he still loved that girl. "Back without a scratch!"

She doubted that but she smiled anyway. "I'm glad." Something in her tone made him turn to look up at her again, his expression turning serious.

"And you? Have you been sleeping?"

"A little." She left him and knelt by Keiki's cradle, running her fingers over the polished wood absently. Lee's eyebrows drew together and he gave her the look that had gotten him named "hot-headed" in the Academy.

"Tenten, you must take care of yourself. Neji wouldn't want you to be like this."

She exhaled slowly. "Well, we'll never know, will we." He fell silent and she graced him with a flat gaze. "There's nothing to say he would even care." She laughed bitterly and it hurt. "_I _was the one that cared." Her voice dropped. "Too much. Always too much."

"You shouldn't say that," he said sternly. "Keiki wouldn't be here if Neji hadn't cared."

Instead of arguing, Tenten took Lee's naivety in stride. Her reply was simple. "We shared one night, Lee. He never even knew…" She trailed off as she looked at her son. Lee's voice was gentle.

"He loved you, Tenten."

She closed her eyes briefly and when she opened them he was rising from the chair, Keiki's small head resting against his shoulder. She pulled back the baby's blankets as Lee laid her son gently back in his bed, tucking him in until he was just a small little bundle under her hand.

"I'll come back tomorrow," he said and she stood to walk him to the door, letting herself be hugged when they reached it. "Please take care of yourself, for Keiki's sake." He winked at her suddenly and flashed her a thumbs up. "If you don't, I'll send Gai-sensei over here for a pep talk."

This time her laugh was amused. "Then don't worry, I'll take care of myself."

He saluted jauntily and disappeared into the night, ignored by the Hyuuga servants and the ever watchful Branch members. They allowed Lee to come and go as he wished, mostly out of respect for the fact that he had been Neji's teammate, and that he had also been the one to bring back the news that the genius of the house would never return home.

It was thanks to him she had Neji's forehead protector.

She really owed Lee a great debt. After… Afterwards, he had stayed with her ceaselessly, and when she found she was pregnant with Keiki, he had been the first to know. They had always had a sort of sibling relationship with each other, sometimes overprotective, sometimes bickering, but underneath was the bond of being comrades. He had been by her side when she moved into the Hyuuga compound at the patriarch's request, helping her ease into a life of the soon-to-be mother of a Branch family member.

The Hyuuga's accepted her, after a fashion. They knew her child to be Neji's and they certainly weren't going to let her raise the child by herself, not considering the tremendous potential he was likely to have. No, a Branch member Keiki would be and the life would be the life of his father. Truthfully, Tenten was not afraid for him. If the curse seal was his destiny, he would fight it just like Neji had, and if he was lucky, Hinata would revolutionize the clan when she took power. Until then, the Hyuugas looked after her, the Branch family members especially. Hiashi, too, had been interested in Keiki from the moment he learned she was pregnant. She supposed it was because he was the son of Neji, and not because the child was his nephew, but she could never be quite sure. Hiashi was a hard one to read and she had only spoken to him twice the entire time she had been living there. She didn't mind either. If they forgot she existed, so much the better.

Walking back into the baby's room, she sat down in the chair Lee had vacated and rested her head against the back of it, watching Keiki sleep the deep sleep of the innocent.

Perhaps that was why she didn't sleep anymore. She was stained.

* * *

A year before…

"The Devil," she said with a slight smile, flipping the card over with practiced fingers. "An insurmountable obstacle in your past, but there are ways around it. " She turned another card, finding it reversed. "The Three of Wands. You're quite arrogant, Neji, and you're not admitting the truth about something." She smirked at her teammate's expression and sat back, eyeing him with amusement. "You're the one who wanted me to read for you," she reminded him. "It's not my fault if you don't like what you hear."

They were sitting on the floor of her apartment, surrounded by pillows and the discarded weapons and scrolls of their complete mission. They were both weary but still strung with the bone deep tension that always accompanied a hard battle and so were too awake to sleep. Neji's suggestion that she do a fortune telling for him had come as a surprise, but a welcome one. Being as sensitive to fate and destiny as he was, he had always had a curiosity about her hobby. It was fortunate too that the reading so far seemed to be accurate, though she wondered what truth he was in denial about. It looked like this reading would be as profitable to her as it was to him if it gave her any insight to what he was thinking.

Sitting across from her, Neji scoffed quietly but didn't reply, simply motioned for her to continue. She smiled and flipped the next card.

"Seven of Wands," she announced, "Defiance. It drives you." Next card. "The Sun." She hesitated briefly but then continued before he could question her. "You're annoyed about something you should be happy about, an achievement perhaps. Joy itself seems like an obstacle." He grunted and she glanced at him before continuing. "Next, the Nine of Wands." Her eyebrows rose and she felt her heartbeat quicken despite herself. "There is someone in your life who brings you reassurance in times of stress." She laughed lightly to divert attention from her own thoughts. "Gai-sensei perhaps?"

Surprisingly, instead of glaring at her for her bad joke, his gaze was dark and smoky, complete calm even though the look made her whole body tingle. "I don't think so," he answered flatly, and she had to look away or be seared by the power of his eyes. He was tired, she told herself, they both were. It had been a long mission. She was just imagining the want she had seen in his face. That was it. Just her imagination.

Clearing her throat, she turned the next card. "The Four of Swords," she told him. "You should enjoy a quiet, peaceful interlude." Again she hesitated, remembering the second meaning to the card and Neji caught the pause.

"What is it?"

She jumped despite herself, finding that he was right beside her, his moon silver eyes watching her carefully. When had he moved? "It's nothing," she replied, swallowing at his nearness. When she reached out for the next card, her fingers trembled.

"Last card," she said softly, "Judgement. You're going to have to make a decision that will affect the rest of your life." She gathered her strength and met his gaze. "Don't ignore it. It could be a fresh start for you."

And then they were staring at each other, too close and too tired, their minds lacking their usual restraint. She could see nothing but the perfect oval of his face, the fall of his dark hair over his shoulders, the bandages on his arm as he lifted a hand to touch her cheek.

"I must make a decision?" he murmured, and the deep tones in his voice made her shiver. Her chest suddenly felt heavy and she struggled to remember how to speak.

"Y..Yes…"

He closed his eyes and leaned forward. "I make it."

Cards fluttered to the floor as she was pressed back into the pillows, Neji's body covering hers as he kissed her with such surety that she felt herself melting into him until she wasn't quite sure where she ended and he began. His hands were on her waist as hers curved around his neck, her breath coming quick and fast as his lips moved to her neck.

"Neji…" She had to think. If only her mind would stop whirling. But she had wanted this for so long her body was reacting without her. Still, she had to tell him. "Neji," she gasped, and felt one of his hands slip under her shirt. "Neji, the cards…"

"I don't care," he said against her skin, pulling away for a second to look at her with such barely concealed passion that his eyes appeared almost lavender. "Tonight I make my own destiny." And he descended onto her, kissing her until she couldn't remember anything except the feel of his arms and the windy smell of his clothes.

On the floor, the angel of Judgement watched and weighed before it was covered by abandoned clothes, forgotten.

Forgotten until the next morning when she woke alone with a hastily scribbled note that he had been called away on a mission.

Three days later, a broken Lee stood on her doorstep and handed her a tarnished forehead protector and begged for her forgiveness.

Neji was dead.

* * *

She wasn't sure what happened directly afterwards. She thought she might have fainted because the only thing she remembered was the terrible pain that had blossomed in her chest, the anguish of knowing something beautiful before it was ripped away forever. The worst part was the fact that she would never know. She would never know how he felt about her, never know if she had just been an outlet for everything he always keep in, just a girl that happened to be there at the specific moment Hyuuga Neji realized his own power. Had it been the mission? Had it been all the years built up between them until they could only surrender? Had it been fate? 

There was also a small amount of guilt concerning the cards. She had never told him the secret meanings behind them, the image they had created slowly within her mind. Sitting in that chair, watching their son she could appreciate the irony though.

The Four of Swords, a trip to the hospital. The Sun, the arrival of a child. And Judgment, the one card that could speed up all the rest, a sign that his fortune would come to pass sooner rather than later.

It had not been much of a surprise to find that she was pregnant five weeks later.

"Perhaps fate decided I couldn't have both of you," she whispered out loud. "Maybe your father left because you were coming." And maybe Neji had indeed made his choice that night, one that had not only affected his own life, but hers as well.

She only knew that she would never read fortunes again.

"Good night, Neji," she said to the moonlight and closed her eyes, for only in her elusive dreams could she still feel him.

A single voice of prayer disappears,  
And I start again, continuing trying by myself.  
Someday moving towards a green morning, I will overcome the nights,  
Because that is a place that I have to find alone.

To be continued…

1. _Acheron_, river of woe in Greek mythology.


	2. The Seven of Wands

Authors Notes: Since **Manatheron **_asked, I thought I should probably give you some background information on the river Acheron. There are actually five rivers of the underworld in Greek mythology. They are: Phylegethon, the river of fire; Cocyrus, the river of wailing; Acheron, the river of woe; Lethe, the river of forgetfulness, and Styx, the river of hatred. Styx is the one you hear about all the time and I'm pretty sure it was that river that Orpheus had to cross in order to bring back Eurydice. He did this by serenading the ferryman, and Hades told him he could take her back as long as he didn't once look back at her until they reached the exit to the underworld. Of course he looks back and loses her forever, etc, but I will reassure you that that will not be happening in this story. _

After all, you can't have NejiTen without Neji, right? (nudgenudge)

**Crossing the Acheron  
**Chapter Two

"What do you think, Keiki?"

Tenten held up a bright flower in front of her son, brushing the soft yellow petals against his cheek with a smile. His moon-colored eyes watched her happily, a sleepy gurgle her only answer. She laughed low in her throat and set the flower in her lap, brushing again at the folds of her dress. She had been forced into a semblance of womanhood that morning by Hinata who, despite rumors, could be quite forceful, especially since she spoke so quietly and kindly that you couldn't help but do what she wanted. After all, why would you want to upset someone so polite? Tenten still hadn't figured a way around that one and so there she was, sitting in the Hyuuga's small garden with Keiki wrapped into a basket, enjoying the sunshine.

And wearing a _dress_.

The reason for this was because it was Kiba's birthday and the Inuzuka clan was holding a celebration for him that evening. Normally, Tenten would not have been invited, but as Hinata was close friends with Kiba and Tenten was a close friend of Hinata… Well, suffice it to say that it looked like everyone in Konoha would end up going by extension.

Hinata, too, was dressed for the party, a small smile on her face as she leaned over Keiki's basket, tilting her head to look at him with pale eyes. Ever since Tenten had first moved into the compound, Hinata had seemed to want to be friends, offering to help with Keiki or simply be available to talk with, sometimes about Neji. Tenten often found these discussions painful but she appreciated Hinata's presence. The younger girl needed a friend within the compound as much as Tenten did and so they found themselves spending more and more time together, fumbling through the first stages of true friendship. Tenten supposed they had become something like sisters. She could tease Hinata mercilessly about her crush on Naruto, and Hinata could look at her with those cute puppy eyes and get Tenten to agree to just about anything. It might have had something to do with Neji, too, although Tenten wasn't sure she wanted to admit it. In his place, she had become Hinata's protector, as Neji would have been, and it was a role that filled that hole in her heart as well.

"He's such a happy child," Hinata observed softly, offering her small cousin a finger to grab onto. "He reminds me of Neji."

Tenten blinked. "Really?"

"Y…Yes," Hinata stammered, finding herself the focus of attention, "Be…Before his father's death." She hesitated, unsure if it was safe to say more. "And he has Neji's jaw." She smiled. "He will be very strong one day."

"Indeed he will," a strong voice said calmly, and Tenten turned her head only to immediately bow down to the patriarch of the Hyuuga clan, her fingers pressed into the grass.

"Hiashi-sama," she said respectfully, slipping into the role of an adopted Branch family member. The first thing Hinata had given her was the rules of etiquette required for one to survive in the world of white-eyed Byakugan users. There was a certain protocol to be followed, certain phrases to be used when addressing certain people. She learned them all because she knew it was necessary, not for herself, but for her son. She never wanted him to be at a disadvantage because his father was gone, so she did everything that was asked of her with perfect civility, showing that she was indeed a worthy mother of Neji's only child and belonged in their realm of ivory colored secrets.

"He's growing quickly," Hiashi commented, analyzing her son with a mild expression she had come to realize as a symptom of one of his better moods. Hiashi could be stern, serious, even cruel if you didn't live up to his expectations, but he was an honorable man, and there was kindness in him if you knew where to look. Not so very different from Neji, perhaps. "A good sign. My daughter is correct. I sense that he has inherited his father's great potential."

Tenten inclined her head. "Thank you, Hiashi-sama. I hope so."

He eyed her for a moment, that smooth, hard face remembering. "With your accuracy and Neji's Byakugan…" He shook his head slightly, seemingly impressed with the possibilities. "It will be interesting to see what he becomes. Raise him well, Tenten-san."

She bowed again. "Yes, Hiashi-sama." And then he was gone and Hinata, who had fallen silent in her father's presence, let out a soft breath. It was a moment before either of them spoke.

"My father thinks Keiki might surpass Neji," Hinata murmured. "It would make Neji's d…death less of a loss in terms of clan strength."

Tenten reached out and caressed Keiki's yet unmarked forehead, wondering if Hinata realized that when he finally did receive the curse seal, it would probably be for the benefit of one of her own children. After all, such strength as they seemed to think Keiki would have had to be restrained, chained.

Caged.

Lest it overcome the Main house and their careful hierarchy.

"And what do _you_ think, Hinata?" she asked gently, turning honey brown eyes to the Hyuuga heir's white-blue. The younger girl smiled shyly.

"I think he's very cute."

* * *

Lee had never been one to dwell on the past. All of his failures, his mistakes, his joys, he experienced them and then put them behind him, always looking towards the future. It was a trait that made him unstoppable, that gave him his unerring determination to fulfill his own wishes. Of course, he understood sorrow and grief and disappointment like everyone else, and perhaps his aversion to worrying about the past was a form of denial as Neji had once told him, but he couldn't help but want to live his life to the fullest, despite hardships. 

There had been times when this optimistic attitude had seen it's trials, like when he was sure he would never graduate from the Academy, or after his leg had been crushed by Gaara and his dream of being a spectacular ninja seemed best left behind.

And when he had found Neji's scratched and gouged forehead protector in a muddy riverbank, the only article of his they had managed to bring back.

He didn't blame himself for Neji's death. Shinobi knew the value and cost of death, they lived with the knowledge of it everyday, Neji as well. They were prepared for it and had been that day, too. He still remembered leaving Konoha on that dewy spring morning, surprised to find Neji leaving Tenten's apartment with something close to regret on his face.

The three of us have relied on each other many times. If something were to happen, promise me you won't let her be alone.

Lee had stared at his teammate seriously. _You think something's going to happen? Why?_

Neji's smirk had been full of arrogance and pride. _I defied fate._

Looking back on that exchange, Lee still wasn't sure what Neji had meant, only that the Hyuuga must have had some notion that something would go wrong with the mission. Lee had made that promise, however, not knowing that Neji would die fighting an renegade ninja, both of them swept away in the rain swollen waters of a large river. Lee and the rest of the team had searched, of course. In fact, they had looked for two days with the hope that Neji hadn't drowned, that he had just been washed downstream.

His body had never been found.

And on the second day, the Hokage had called them back, saying it was fruitless to search anymore. Neji had been wounded and very low on chakra and the rapids had been fierce. There was no hope in useless actions. Even so, Lee had kept watch in the village from the perimeter walls, waiting for Neji to come walking up, annoyed that they thought a mere river could beat him.

A year passed.

Lee kept his promise. He was there for Keiki's birth, holding Tenten's hand as she delivered his teammate's child, the inheritor of both steel and sight. It had been a hard road to that point. Tenten had internalized Neji's death, unable to speak of it or listen to others talk about him in the past tense. There had even been a time when Lee had taken away all her weapons, anything with a sharp edge. Not because he thought she would hurt herself. No, she was too strong for that and she would never have done anything to endanger Neji's son. He had done it because he knew that when Tenten finally broke down to cry for him it would be explosive and he didn't want an accident on his hands. He wouldn't lose to Neji that way.

Two weeks after his death, Lee had gone to her apartment to find her sobbing on the floor like her heart was being torn out of her body, her great racking sobs making him cry as well. They had sat there and cried for the unfairness of it all and afterwards had never spoken of it again. It was their moment, their secret, and a last farewell to their friend.

Even now, after all this time, he knew Tenten was still hurting. She never said anything but he could tell, and no matter how optimistic he was, no matter how determined, he just didn't have the words to heal her. Gai-sensei had told him no one did.

_The only person who could have reached my little flower is Neji,_ he had said, laying a hand on Lee's shoulder_. But don't give up, Lee! We shall do our best to restore her youthful vigor in his place!_

Lee raised a clenched fist with fiery resolve. "I won't let you down, Gai-sensei!"

And with burning rays of determination in his eyes, he strode into the Inuzuka clan's stronghold with the glinting smile and flare that only Rock Lee could do. He wouldn't lose this time. This time, he would win.

* * *

"Gai-sensei, be more careful!" Tenten berated her teacher, wincing as he twirled around with Keiki in his arms. The baby was held firmly to his chest and she knew that Gai-sensei would never do anything to hurt him, but _still_… Gai's enthusiasm sometimes made her a nervous wreck. What was probably worse was that Keiki absolutely _adored_ him. He cooed and giggled and smiled and her sensei soaked it in like a proud sponge. 

"Tenten, my sunflower, you have nothing to fear! I am simply undone by Keiki's charm! How beautifully _vibrant_ he is!" He grinned at her son who, of course, smiled back. Tenten put her head in her hands. "That's right, Keiki! Never lose that look of unbridled happiness!"

"Gai, are you still torturing that child?" Kakashi asked mildly as he passed by on his way to refill his punch glass. Gai smirked deviously.

"Ah, Kakashi, my eternal rival, are you jealous of Keiki's admiration for me? See how he delights in my presence!"

Tenten groaned quietly. Oh god, if they had a competition over who could make Keiki laugh the most… She stood up quickly, seeing Lee enter the party out of the corner of her eye. "Oh, look, there's Lee. I'm sure Keiki would like to see him." She scooped her son out of her teacher's arms quickly and made a break for it, leaving him arguing with Kakashi as they went to the desserts table. She breathed a sigh of relief when she got to her old teammate. "Lee, there you are. I was wondering if you would be able to come. You're late."

He gave her a sheepish look. "Well, I had to run 300 laps around the village, but I tripped on the last one, so I then I had to do to 500 pushups but…"

She shook her head, bemused. "Well, at least you're here, but the party's almost over." She glanced over to where Naruto and Kiba had passed out after trying to see who could eat the most cake with a long-suffering smile. Hinata and Shino were trying to revive them without much luck. "I was just getting ready to take Keiki home. It's time I put him to bed."

"I'll go with you," Lee said instantly. "You shouldn't walk back by yourself."

She patted his shoulder with her free hand. "Thank you, Lee, but I'll be fine. It's not that far and besides," she nudged him with her elbow, "don't you want to say hello to Sakura?"

His eyes grew dreamy. "Sakura-san is here?"

"She's in the corner over there by Ino." She watched him stumble off and smiled affectionately. "Try not to make a fool of yourself," she called after him before bundling Keiki and stepping out into the cool summer night.

The walk home was peaceful and refreshing, the evening stars twinkling at her and lighting her path. By the time she reached the Hyuuga compound she felt relaxed, at peace, and with Keiki asleep against her shoulder she walked down the simple hallways with smooth steps, unburdened for the moment by all the things she couldn't change.

She greeted a few women of the Branch house that called to her and went into Keiki's room to put him down for the night. She kissed his smooth head and pulled the blankets over his small shoulders, wondering if she should sit with him for awhile before deciding against it. She hadn't gotten much sleep lately and Keiki would want an early morning feeding before sunrise. She'd better get some rest while she could.

Covering her mouth as she yawned, she slid Keiki's door closed only halfway and went next door to her own bedroom, moving the rice paper panel aside with her foot as she kicked off her shoes carelessly. She padded quietly towards her bed and had the first three buttons of her shirt undone when she realized there was someone in the room with her.

Her eyes widened as she realized she didn't have a kunai handy and she turned quickly with the intention of screaming. Instantly, a hand covered her mouth and she was pulled backwards against a solid body, another arm snaking around her waist to hold her firmly. She struggled and when she realized that wasn't going to work, she went completely limp, a good surprise method that usually allowed you to slip through your attackers fingers. Unfortunately, whoever it was didn't fall for it, his arms tightening to hold her upright.

"Stop it," he commanded in her ear firmly. "You're going to wake everyone."

She blinked, feeling her body go still and then start to tremble. Something was shaking in her heart, a vibration that echoed into her mind and out her mouth as her assailant eased his hold on her. She turned halfway in his arms, feeling as if she were about to break apart.

The hoarse whisper that left her lips sounded nothing like her. "Neji?" But she never heard his answer, for at that moment a ray of moonshine turned his eyes a luminescent white and she felt herself fall away from him, her sight going dim.

Tenten had fainted.

To be continued…


	3. The Nine of Wands

Disclaimer: Just realized I never did one of these. Nope, don't own anything.

Author's Notes: Another chapter with a soundtrack. This one was written to the tune of "Radical Dreamers" by Yasunori Mitsuda. Once again, stop by my journal (you can get to it from my profile) and pick up the song before you read if you want. :)

**Crossing the Acheron  
**Chapter Three

She was out for only a few seconds, not enough time for her to hit the floor, though the mysterious intruder caught her before she could do so. Lying there in the moonlight, hair unbound and cradled in the lap of a ghost, she laughed lightly with bitter understanding. She felt dizzy and unbalanced but perhaps she had been more exhausted than she thought. Nevertheless, it explained why the face watching her was the one she most wanted to see. She should have known.

"I hate this dream," she told him, lifting her fingers towards his cheek but stopping before she could actually touch him. Every time she reached for him he always disappeared. "For a moment, I actually thought you were here." She dropped her hand and sat up, that aching grief in her heart returning now that she knew he wasn't real. For one blessed moment she had believed and it had fled, instantly healed. She laughed softly again. She _really_ should know better by now.

He was still sitting there though, on his knees at the foot of her bed, watching her with that frown she had never forgotten. The details were perfect this time, down to the silky luster of his long hair and the pearl tones in his eyes, the way his eyebrows drew together as he looked at her. She had outdone herself with this one.

Tenten closed her own eyes and turned her head away. "I don't want to do this anymore," she announced in a whisper. "I don't want to see you… this way." A harsh prickling started behind her eyelids and she rubbed them before she could start crying. "It's hard on me," she admitted finally, "and on Keiki too, because I can't look at him without seeing you."

The frown deepened on his face and she wondered if he would disappear now, vanish like dreams were said to do if you knew what they were. Instead he spoke, and she wondered if that was jealousy in his voice. "Keiki?"

She stood, turning her back on him, wondering why the sound of him made her tremble like a leaf. She crossed her arms, holding onto her shoulders in an attempt to keep herself from shattering. "Please, Neji…" Hot, silent tears trickled down her cheeks. "I don't want to dream of you anymore!"

There was a moment of heavy quiet and then she heard him rise, his shoes hitting the wooden floorboards as he came up directly behind her, close enough for the cool touch of his breath to kiss her neck.

His breath… Tenten's eyes widened.

"I didn't think to find you here," he said, his voice so low she almost couldn't hear him. He seemed not to realize that a revelation was unwinding in her mind. "I went to your apartment and found it empty. For a moment…" he paused and she actually felt him tense despite the fact they weren't touching. "For a moment, I was… afraid… that something had happened to you. I came here for answers and discovered you in my old room." He exhaled tiredly. "Is this a dream? I don't know anymore. I thought I had woken from it days ago."

"Neji," she said hoarsely, teetering on the precipice of her heart. She could still save herself the pain, she could, but she would never know unless… "Please. Touch me." He hesitated and she squeezed her eyes shut. "Please," she begged, and sobbed aloud when his arms hugged her from behind, folding over hers slowly, bringing her back against the solid safety of his chest, his mouth near her ear.

He murmured her name into her hair. "Tenten."

Her knees buckled and they dropped together, Neji turning her slightly so he could cup her face, his translucent eyes watching her as he forced her to look at him. She saw him through a haze of tears and starlight but the feel of his hands against her skin had never been more real. Her mind whirled, unable to comprehend.

"You're really here," she gasped, her fingers curling into the fabric of his shirt. "I don't believe it. You're supposed to be dead."

"I _was_ dead," he said flatly, "but I found my way back." Something moved in his face, a shadow of memory. "I remembered you."

"Me?" she whispered, almost too shocked to understand what he was saying. His hands dropped to her shoulders as he tilted his head, studying her.

"You changed," he said sternly, almost accusingly. His fingers brushed her free hair and the sleeve of her dress. "You're not how I remember."

Almost she could smile. "It happens." Carefully, almost fearfully, she lifted a shaking hand to his face, tracing the smooth line of his jaw and reveling in the ability to actually touch him, long dead senses flaring to life. Her soul took its first breath in ages and she saw him clearly, no longer an apparition in the night. She couldn't begin to imagine why or how he was there, what had kept him away for over a year and made everyone believe he was dead. She suddenly wanted to know everything, where he'd been, what he'd been doing… who he had been with. And most of all, she wanted to hear him say what he'd never had time to tell her.

"Neji…" she began.

Keiki started to cry in the next room.

She jerked in his arms, tugged back to reality and she turned her head towards the baby's room, something stealing her breath away. She wasn't ready yet. Not yet.

"Keiki," she whispered and Neji tensed, pulling her up off the floor with him as he stood. He glanced at her and she suddenly felt that he was somewhere far away from her, distant.

"A child?"

She met his gaze and gathered her courage. "My son."

He stared at her and she could tell what he was thinking. His arms dropped away from her and he crossed to the door, following the baby's cries. She trailed after him like a phantom, no longer feeling she had any substance left, nothing more to give or feel. She could only stand in the doorway as Neji went to the cradle and looked down, his usually impassive features twisting into shock as white eyes met white. His hand on the side of the crib actually shook. Tenten felt more tears cling to her eyelashes.

Keiki stopped crying.

"My son," she repeated raggedly, "and yours." Neji swung to face her, so many caged emotions swirling in his eyes that her voice broke. "His name is Keiki and he's four months old." Her words began to tumble out faster as he took a step towards her. "He loves his uncles, Lee and Gai-sensei, and he's always laughing, always happy. Hinata says he reminds her of you." Another step. She let her tears drip to the floor without notice. "Hiashi thinks he's going to be strong and I do too, and he has a way of charming everyone." She choked on a laugh. "He must get that from me." Another step and another. She backed up against the wall as he came to stand right in front of her, looking down at her with an expression she couldn't read. His body twitched as if he wanted to hold her.

"And you?" he asked quietly, leaning towards her. "What about you?"

She could not look way from him. "I don't sleep at night anymore. I remember what it was like to have you next to me and it's too painful." She swallowed. "And yet, I hate myself for being this way because I think that night meant more to me than it did to you. I can't claim you, I have no right to you, but I still love you even though you probably don't lo-"

His hand over her mouth cut her off. "Don't say that," he said, eyes flashing and voice strained. He was angry, she realized. Her tears slid over his fingers but he didn't move his hand. "You can't know… what I've been through to come back here." For a moment, something dark flickered in his eyes before it was gone and he was looking at her fiercely. "Despite what you may think, I didn't sleep with you with the intention of throwing you aside the next morning. I wanted…" She could see him struggling for the words. "…you, and not just for that one night, but for all my nights." He lifted his hand away finally. "Is that what you wanted to hear?"

She gasped for air and wished she could stop crying. "Yes," she whispered and leaned forward to wrap her arms around his neck, their mouths meeting in an uncoordinated kiss that was somehow the sweetest one of all. Her fingers clenched around fistfuls of his shirt in an attempt to be as close to him as possible. His arms locked behind her shoulder blades as if he had the same desire, one hand winding its way into her hair, the other pressed against the small of her back. When they finally broke apart, Tenten rested her head beneath his chin for a moment as he held her, knowing they still had a lot to say to each other but content, for the moment, just feel him around her.

A few minutes later, Keiki made a soft gurgling sound that let her know he was still wide awake. She smiled into Neji's shoulder.

"Do you want to hold your son?"

* * *

Tenten had always thought that her best memory would be of the night she had spent with Neji, the one accumulation of every wish she had had since realizing she was in love with him. Now she knew she had been wrong. Her best memory would be of lying in the crook of Neji's arm, their legs entwined against the mattress of her bed while their son lay asleep on his father's chest, a small bundle that held everything they loved best about themselves. 

Neji's hand lay on Keiki's back, holding the infant steady, the Hyuuga prodigy's expression one of wonderment. He hadn't taken his eyes off the baby since Tenten had laid him on his chest, his amazement that the tiny being was somehow a part of him obvious to her.

Smiling into his chest, she ran a finger down Keiki's smooth cheek tenderly, speaking softly so as not to wake him. "What do you think?"

"He's perfect," Neji answered at once, surprising her. She hadn't expected him to reply so quickly. The arm he had wrapped around her waist tightened as he continued, his usual smirk crossing his face. "But then, he _is _a Hyuuga."

She laughed softly and he shifted as if wanting to hold onto the sound of it. "Just remember there's half of me in there too," she murmured.

"That's why he's perfect," Neji said quietly, and she moved her head back to look into his face, wishing he'd quit making her cry.

"Thank you," she whispered and he leaned down to kiss her, his long hair pooling against her neck. When he started to pull away, she threaded her fingers into the hair at his temple, her palm against his cheek. "Promise me you'll tell me everything," she said pleadingly. "I want to know, Neji."

For a moment he didn't move, simply watched her, his eyes reading her in that familiar way she had missed. "In the morning," he told her finally, his expression easing at whatever he saw in her. She smiled at him and dropped her hand to his chest, a small sigh escaping her as his fingers stroked her arm. In minutes her eyes had drifted closed and she was sleeping soundly for the first time in over a year.

As for himself, Neji stayed awake, holding her and their son and watching them dream with something that felt like a suspiciously full and content heart.

* * *

"I was with an old fisherman by the name of Seichiro," Neji told them the next morning, his eyes fixed on Hiashi's. They were seated on their knees in front of the patriarch, Tenten slightly behind and to the right of Neji, keeping her eyes downcast as was proper. Hiashi was in the front of the room, legs crossed and none of the surprise he had shown earlier anywere on his stone-carved face. 

By now the whole Hyuuga compound was aware that the genius Branch member was alive and having an audience with Hiashi. Tenten was actually surprised not to see family members pressed up against the rice paper panels, struggling to hear what might be said. The Hyugga's were too regal for eavesdropping, she supposed, although that's exactly what she would have been doing if it had been her.

"He told me that he had found me half buried in the mud and rushes by the riverbank. He took me to his house and cared for me for many days. During this time, I… did not know who I was." Tenten felt her heart skip a beat. So that was why. "I had sustained a head injury while in the river. I remembered nothing of my past, not even my name, and I carried nothing with me that might identify me." A muscle moved in Neji's jaw, a sign she knew to mean he was tense. "Months passed and I stayed with Seichiro. I had no where to go and no one I met had ever seen me before. A month ago I started having dreams about people I didn't know and places I had never seen. The images came in flashes and I began to have headaches. I felt a sense of urgency that I couldn't explain. Then a week ago I was watching a single leaf fall and I remembered."

Tenten closed her eyes briefly in silent thanks. The leaves of Konoha.

"What did you remember?" Hiashi asked. Neji paused before answering.

"My life."

But something about his answer struck her and she recalled what he had said the night before. _I remembered you_. She swallowed a gasp. Could his memory of _her _have been the one to lead him home? Her eyes flew to the rigid lines of Neji's back and she smiled, her eyes shimmering.

"I trust you have seen your son?" Hiasha continued after a moment, his gaze flickering to her. Neji nodded once.

"I have."

Hiashi's expression eased. "Then I give you leave to spend time with your family. They, too, have a had a long road."

Tenten blinked, shocked into stillness, bowing to Hiashi-sama purely out of habit and rising to follow Neji out of the room simply because she was used to following him. Once they were a safe distance down the corridor, Neji turned to her, frowning slightly.

"What is it? Your face says you're surprised about something."

She shook her head, still amazed. "Hiashi-sama, he… he said that Keiki and I… that we're your family." She put a hand over her mouth quickly to stifle any sort of sob that might come out of her. It would be awhile before her emotions righted themselves, until then she was liable to cry at any moment.

Neji stepped closer to her, one smooth eyebrow rising in question. "Aren't you?"

She didn't know how to answer that. It's not as if they were married despite the fact they had a son. Still, she _wanted_ to be his family, wanted it with every fiber of her being. She would live as a Hyuuga forever if it meant being near him.

Seeing her hesitation, Neji pulled something out of his shirt and she recognized the pattern on the back as being one of her tarot cards. She glanced at him incredulously as he flipped it over. The Nine of Wands.

"When did you…?"

"I took it with me the morning I left you," he answered quietly. "Do you remember what it means?"

"There's someone you rely on it times of stress, someone that brings you stability," she whispered, stunned. He had keep it with him all this time? "I never checked to see if they were all there. I never opened them again."

He leaned down, his mouth brushing her ear, as close as they could get in the very public hallway of the Hyuuga house. Her body shivered with the sound of his voice.

"That person, my Nine of Wands, she _is_ my family." Her eyes widened as he straightened, that smirk of his curving his lips slightly. "I'm disappointed in you, Tenten. I thought you could foretell the future?"

And in an instant she was herself again, young and fierce, and he was her arrogant Hyuuga teammate that needed a good smack. She smiled up at him, letting a joyful laugh bubble out of her, and walked beside him to their son's room.

Surprisingly, Keiki wasn't alone.

"I heard a rumor and came to see if it was true," Lee said, some odd look on his face that she couldn't read. Either he was about to cry or do something incredibly stupid. In true Lee flair, he suddenly pointed a finger at Neji, one hand on his hip. "Hyuuga Neji, I challenge you to a fight!"

"Lee! What are you doing?!" she asked, feeling as if she had received one too many surprises in the last hour.

"I cannot accept that this is Neji until I have fought him!" he replied dramatically. "We shall see if you hold the same youthful talent that my teammate once had!"

Tenten was having trouble keeping her jaw from dropping. "Lee!"

He glanced at her briefly. "Forgive me, Tenten, but a promise is a promise." Neji shifted at that, eyeing their friend with renewed attention.

"I accept," he said suddenly, watching Lee with complete seriousness. Tenten looked at him as if he too had gone crazy.

"Neji!"

"This will only take a moment," he told her as he and Lee stepped out into the courtyard. She followed them, speechless, wondering why the two men in her life were such… such _men_. Already other Hyuugas were stopping to watch, sizing up the two contestants as if it were just another day.

Lee struck a pose. "Alright, Neji, show me your bountiful determination and don't hold back!"

Neji favored his son's uncle with a dangerous half-smile. He was going to enjoy this.

To be continued…


	4. The Sun

Author's Notes: After looking at this again, I realized I probably should have just included it in the previous chapter, but since I can't do that, here it is for your reading the pleasure. It's the end, my dears! I've had a wonderful time writing this and I hope you've had a wonderful time reading. Thank you for all your support and I'm sure I'll be seeing you again soon.

Enjoy.

**Crossing the Acheron  
**Chapter Four

"Really, you two. I thought you had this out of your system years ago," Tenten grumbled, exasperated, as she wound bandages over Lee's shoulder and not gently. His wounds were not severe in the least and so she couldn't help being somewhat rough on him. Of all the idiotic ideas…

"Fools never change," Neji commented, his arms crossed over his chest as he watched her begin putting away the medical supplies. He was cool, calm, and if the slight smirk lingering on his lips was any indication, utterly smug in his victory.

"As Keiki's uncle I could not let you continue here unless I was sure it was really you," Lee answered seriously, then his eyes grew watery and his voice shook with emotion. "Ah, but you are as strong as ever, Neji! Only you could beat me so soundly!" He rose slightly from his chair as if to embrace his old teammate but Neji gave him a flat look.

"Touch me and I will hurt you. Again."

Lee grinned, tears of joy flowing down his cheeks. He cried with the same energy in which he did everything else. "It's so good to have you back! Wait until Gai-sensei hears about this!" And before they could stop him, he was out the door and running as if the beating he had just taken was already a distant memory.

Tenten watched the dust trail of his escape fondly. It was a moment before she spoke into the silence. "He took care of me, you know. Me and Keiki."

Neji let his arms fall to his sides. "I know."

She looked up at him from her position near Lee's abandoned chair, a roll of gauze still in her hands. "What?"

"It was a promise he made me before I left." His pale eyes wandered down to her. "To make sure you were never alone."

She paused before smiling softly, her eyes bright. "So that was it," she whispered. "He always talked about a promise but he never told me exactly what it was."

A minute passed as neither of them spoke, both thinking of all the things that had come to pass in the space of a year. Surprisingly, it was Neji that broke their reverie.

"I sometimes wished I hadn't asked him," he said quietly, his gaze stoically fixed on the horizon. Tenten tilted her head, curious. She knew he and Lee had never been what you would call "friends" but they had always respected each other, if grudgingly, and they had relied on each other through every situation imaginable. If nothing else, she knew Neji trusted Lee with his life and that was the most important thing between ninja.

"Why?"

A muscle moved in his jaw. "I thought, if something did happen to me and Lee fulfilled his vow, that you might fall for him." His voice was stiff. "You've always been… affectionate towards Lee, and the idea of you being… close… to him was plausible. When I regained my memory, I knew I might come back to find that things had changed, that you had moved on, perhaps with him." He exhaled silently. "I was prepared to hate him while being thankful he kept his word."

Tenten watched him, taking in his straight posture and the way he refused to look at her. Instead of reaching out to touch him, soothe him, she gazed out into the courtyard as well, her words steady and for him alone.

"Lee is a good person and a remarkable man. Because of him, I was able to hold myself together for Keiki. But…" She felt Neji tense beside her as if bracing himself for some hidden truth. She bowed her head. "He's not you." He turned quickly to look at her, his eyes finally meeting hers as she lifted her head. "You chose a good caretaker but Lee loves only one woman and it is not me." She smiled then, the one she reserved just for him. "Besides, I find I prefer men with white eyes."

Neji's shoulders relaxed and he managed his trademark smirk, slightly softened since it was directed at her. "Remind me to have you surrounded with only female family members."

She rose from the floor and gave him an innocent grin. "Oh, did you think I meant you?" She watched him blink before turning and leaning over Keiki's crib. "I don't think you're really my type. I do like your eyes, but I tend to like my men pudgy and cute. It helps if they giggle when I smile at them too." She smiled at her son just to hear him laugh and glanced at Neji out of the corner of her eye, watching him remember what it was like to be teased. He kept the smirk and leaned back, his expression confidant.

"Really? Well, I guess I should sleep elsewhere tonight then."

She blinked and then put her hands on her hips. "Neji! That's cruel," she pouted before breaking down and laughing lightly. She went to him then, molding herself into him as his arm immediately curved around her shoulder. They stayed like that until Gai suddenly appeared, rivers of tears dripping down his face as he and Lee clung to each other in their mutual happiness.

"Neji, my prodigy! Lee has told me you have returned from beyond all hope to grace us with your beautiful-"

Calmly, Neji reached forward and slid the door closed.

* * *

"I want to take you there someday," Neji told her that night, afterwards. They were lying together under the sheets, disheveled and with the sleep of the satisfied mere moments away. Tenten moved her head slightly against his shoulder, eyes closed as she draped one arm over his chest. 

"Where?"

"To a fisherman's cottage by a river."

She smiled and hummed softly in the back of her throat. "I would like that."

"Keiki, too."

She opened her eyes then, realizing he was not simply voicing an errant thought, but a very real wish. She pressed a kiss into his collarbone. "Alright."

"And I want you to marry me."

In a flash she had raised herself up on one elbow, pulling the sheets over her chest as she gazed at him in shock. Moonbeams slid across his skin as he turned his head to look at her calmly, stray strands of long hair pooled at his throat. His eyes were staring at her, through her, and she wondered if he already knew what she was going to say from that world-wise gaze.

When she didn't reply right away, he shifted again, as if trying to better view her facial expressions. "You don't want to."

Her heart lurched. "No, I just…" She licked her lips and kept herself from glancing at the wall that separated them from Keiki. "Do you really want to marry me?"

"I just said I did."

"No, you just said you wanted _me_ to marry _you_, but what about your own feelings?" She looked away briefly. "Regaining your memories, coming back here, seeing Keiki, it's been overwhelming, hasn't it? I don't want you to do this because you think you should. Keiki and I, we've gotten this far. If you're not sure…"

His fingers brushed her cheek. "I love you. The choice is simple."

Her skin tingled where he had touched her and her eyes widened. Only Hyuuga Neji could tell a woman he loved her so calmly, so efficiently, without all the fanfare you read about in romance novels. There were no bells, no fireworks, no earthquakes. There was just starlight and shadow, the smoky smell of spent candles, and three words that meant nothing unless put in a certain order.

Neji was right. It was simple.

A gentle smile curved her lips. "I must make a decision?" she murmured questioningly, watching as he remembered he had said those exact words to her on another night, long ago, when they had taken their first steps down a winding road together.

"Yes," he answered, almost voiceless. She leaned down to kiss him sweetly.

"Then I make it."

* * *

"There's fish, Mother!" 

Tenten looked up from unloading the basket of food the cooks had handed her that morning, shielding her eyes against the bright afternoon sun to gaze towards the riverbank where an excited seven year old boy was waving at her. She smiled and stood, brushing grass off her clothes as she went to join him, white glare from the water dancing over her skin as bent near him. The gray flickers of fish darted merrily as they danced with the mild current, the musical trickle of water over stones a pleasant backdrop to the summery day.

"My, there _are_ a lot of fish, aren't there?" she said with a smile. Keiki grinned.

"Seichiro-san picked a good spot to catch them. He must have been a very good fisherman."

She laughed. "Well, he did fish your father out from the river, didn't he?" She flicked water at him playfully and watched his eyebrows rise in surprise, his scar-less forehead creasing. She straightened before he could splash her back and tugged on the long fall of his hair. "Don't get too wet. We're going to eat in a few minutes."

"Yes, Mother," he replied, with perfect Hyuuga manners before destroying the image by running full speed into the water, laughing as he was sprayed with the splash. She shook her head and headed up the small hill, eyeing the simple, wooden cabin with a sense of contentment. She was grateful for that place and for the man who had lived there once upon a time. It was empty now but that didn't mean she would forget. No, the memory of this place was with her now, just as it was with Neji.

He was standing in the middle of the outer room when she stepped inside, hands at his side as his eyes swept the dusty floor and the smudged windows. The smell of the river was in the air, along with the heaviness of summer heat. It was comfortable though and she knew he liked it there, away from everything except the two people he held the closest. She went to him, curling her fingers into his and leaning her head against his arm and wondering if she would ever truly understand what he had gone through there.

He squeezed her hand briefly. "I remembered you in this room," he said and she blinked. "I was holding a knife and trying to cut a snare from a fishing net and I just remembered. Just like that."

She couldn't help but smile. "It would _have_ to be a weapon, wouldn't it."

He smirked but said nothing, still remembering, and she stood with him until Keiki ran in, dripping wet and calling for his father to come see the shark he was sure he had seen in the water. Watching their son lead Neji out to the river, holding his hand, Tenten realized she would never have to ask for anything else. That empty void had been filled a long time ago.

Hoping she wasn't about to disgrace herself by crying, she turned back to the deserted room full of memories and bowed low.

"Thank you, Seichiro, for sending him home to me."

And then she too went out into the sunshine, to her husband and to her son and a fresh summer day, together.

**The End.**


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